M’town vs. K’ville girls, Lower Lake vs. Cloverdale boys in spotlight

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Hoklani Wickard (right) and the Lower Lake Trojans need a win tonight at home against Cloverdale to keep the heat on the undefeated Fort Bragg Timberwolves (5-0) atop the NCL I standings. Lower Lake and Cloverdale enter play tied for second place at 4-1.

Riley Goff (right) and her Kelseyville High School teammates are home tonight to play Middletown in a first-place showdown matching two 5-0 teams in the North Central League I standings. It’s the first of two league meetings this season between the two teams.
- Photos by minenna.smugmug.com

KELSEYVILLE >> Two high-profile North Central League I basketball games take place right here in Lake County tonight and both have title implications as the girls’ and boys’ league races approach the midway mark.

In Kelseyville, the winner of tonight’s first-place showdown between girls’ co-leaders Middletown (5-0) and Kelseyville (5-0) will reside in the league’s penthouse all by itself. The two teams couldn’t be much closer in terms of records, with the host Knights entering play 14-3 overall and the Mustangs at 13-4. Both teams have won six in a row.

Senior center Ashlyn Welton (1,112 career points and counting) leads defending league champion Middletown while junior guard Riley Goff (946 points career points and counting) leads Kelseyville. Welton is averaging a team-best 16.6 points a game for the Mustangs, Goff a team-best 14.9 for the Knights.

To add even more intrigue to tonight’s NCL I clash of the titans, Middletown is working on a 16-game league winning streak dating back to last season. Kelseyville was the last team to beat the Mustangs. In fact, the Knights did it on their home court last season, winning 49-42.

Each team still has eight league games remaining after tonight, including a rematch Feb. 12 in Middletown.

Middletown closes out the first half of its league schedule Tuesday at home against Willits while Kelseyville plays at St. Helena.

Boys’ basketball

Tonight’s battle of 4-1 teams between the Lower Lake Trojans and defending league champion Cloverdale Eagles won’t be for sole possession of first place in the standings, but the loser is likely to fall two games off the pace set by the undefeated Fort Bragg Timberwolves (5-0) — who play at last-place St. Helena (0-5) tonight.

Lower Lake, a winner of two straight and four of its last five, has only a 78-66 loss at Fort Bragg marring its league record so far. Cloverdale, which has yet to play Fort Bragg, fell 41-40 to Kelseyville for its one league loss to date.

“It’s another big game for us,” Lower Lake coach Shannon Tubbs said following the Trojans’ dramatic 65-62 overtime victory at home Tuesday over Willits, a game during which six Lower Lake players scored eight or more points and five made at least one 3-pointer.

Lower Lake has won back-to-back games in thrilling fashion, including a 67-65 home victory on Jan. 15 against Kelseyville.

The Trojans close out the first half of their NCL I schedule next Tuesday in Lakeport against Clear Lake. Lower Lake will spend the majority of the second half of league play on the road, with only two home dates over its final seven games.

Cloverdale concludes the first half of its league schedule on Wednesday with a big road test at Fort Bragg, a game Lower Lake and Kelseyville (3-2) certainly will be following closely.